Supper Preparations
These days preparing supper involves filling plates with food to be microwaved five days a week. I only actually cook once a week when I make enough food to last the rest of the week when supplemented by the restaurant leftovers we procure the other day of the week.
I prefer making supper in the afternoon while the kids are awake. I used to do it while they napped late in the afternoon since filling plates and cups is easier without children at my feet screaming for a second lunch of the macaroni and cheese flowing from the plastic storage container. Eventually I realized that I was wasting too much of their prime napping time dispensing food instead of wasting it on the Internet. When weighing the fruits of bonus Internet time against the horrors of screaming children, the fruits knocked the horrors off the scale, especially since I could placate the children with cereal and Goldfish.
Preparing supper can be a surprisingly intricate process, particularly when done for three children. I have to fill three sippy cups with two different kinds of milk. I usually mix the boys’ supper with frozen spinach cube to add vegetable matter. When serving meat with Abbie’s supper, I have to cut it into tiny pieces to increase the chance that a meat molecule or two might inadvertently adhere to her fork because otherwise all meat on her tray goes directly to the dog. I have to prepare Abbie’s post-nap fruit snack by washing and cutting the fruit at a pace quick enough to fill the bowl faster than Abbie can sneak fruit out of it. If I want a baked potato for supper now’s the time to prepare it by removing the dark spots around some eyes and the semi-evolved sight organs that have sprouted from other eyes.
Between all of this preparation, occasional breaks to deal with child emergencies, cereal dish refills every time the dog empties it, someone knocks it on the floor, or a child accidentally eats the last piece, it can take me 30 minutes or more to finish in the kitchen. That’s 30 minutes when I’m not paying close attention to any children who aren’t screaming at my feet.
Sometimes the children take advantage of my inattentiveness by getting into forbidden objects. I generally check on them when I don’t hear anything from them for a couple minutes. On Tuesday afternoon, I realized Abbie hadn’t squawked or broken anything for a couple minutes. I went to discover which forbidden object was so alluring that it could distract her for a couple minutes straight. I found her asleep in bed.
I knew she’d had a rough day from the way she grumped her way through the morning. Apparently she couldn’t take the frustration of being denied macaroni and cheese, and went for a nap. She never puts herself to sleep, though. Usually I have to walk her through an elaborate naptime routine, dump her in bed, run out the door before she can, and reenter her room 15 minutes later to return her to bed before she finally gives up. Yesterday she put herself to sleep out of free will an hour before her usual naptime.
I shrugged and finished preparing supper. Then I took the boys into the living room for some quality playtime, and was surprised to see how calm they can be when Abbie isn’t stealing toys from them.
I put the boys down for their nap a little early. I didn’t know how Abbie would react to her early naptime, and wanted everyone to sleep simultaneously. I snuck out of their room, crawled into my bed, and drifted into my nap with the boys.
20 minutes later, I woke to hear Abbie roll out of bed. I opened her door to release my fully refreshed toddler, and saw both boys rising from their slumber. Their two-hour afternoon nap had become a 20-minute afternoon nap. I left them in their room hoping they’d drift back to sleep, but they only drifted into anger at being ignored.
My Internet time took a major hit that day. I pulled everyone into the living room, and we played until supper. At least I snuck my nap in.
I prefer making supper in the afternoon while the kids are awake. I used to do it while they napped late in the afternoon since filling plates and cups is easier without children at my feet screaming for a second lunch of the macaroni and cheese flowing from the plastic storage container. Eventually I realized that I was wasting too much of their prime napping time dispensing food instead of wasting it on the Internet. When weighing the fruits of bonus Internet time against the horrors of screaming children, the fruits knocked the horrors off the scale, especially since I could placate the children with cereal and Goldfish.
Preparing supper can be a surprisingly intricate process, particularly when done for three children. I have to fill three sippy cups with two different kinds of milk. I usually mix the boys’ supper with frozen spinach cube to add vegetable matter. When serving meat with Abbie’s supper, I have to cut it into tiny pieces to increase the chance that a meat molecule or two might inadvertently adhere to her fork because otherwise all meat on her tray goes directly to the dog. I have to prepare Abbie’s post-nap fruit snack by washing and cutting the fruit at a pace quick enough to fill the bowl faster than Abbie can sneak fruit out of it. If I want a baked potato for supper now’s the time to prepare it by removing the dark spots around some eyes and the semi-evolved sight organs that have sprouted from other eyes.
Between all of this preparation, occasional breaks to deal with child emergencies, cereal dish refills every time the dog empties it, someone knocks it on the floor, or a child accidentally eats the last piece, it can take me 30 minutes or more to finish in the kitchen. That’s 30 minutes when I’m not paying close attention to any children who aren’t screaming at my feet.
Sometimes the children take advantage of my inattentiveness by getting into forbidden objects. I generally check on them when I don’t hear anything from them for a couple minutes. On Tuesday afternoon, I realized Abbie hadn’t squawked or broken anything for a couple minutes. I went to discover which forbidden object was so alluring that it could distract her for a couple minutes straight. I found her asleep in bed.
I knew she’d had a rough day from the way she grumped her way through the morning. Apparently she couldn’t take the frustration of being denied macaroni and cheese, and went for a nap. She never puts herself to sleep, though. Usually I have to walk her through an elaborate naptime routine, dump her in bed, run out the door before she can, and reenter her room 15 minutes later to return her to bed before she finally gives up. Yesterday she put herself to sleep out of free will an hour before her usual naptime.
I shrugged and finished preparing supper. Then I took the boys into the living room for some quality playtime, and was surprised to see how calm they can be when Abbie isn’t stealing toys from them.
I put the boys down for their nap a little early. I didn’t know how Abbie would react to her early naptime, and wanted everyone to sleep simultaneously. I snuck out of their room, crawled into my bed, and drifted into my nap with the boys.
20 minutes later, I woke to hear Abbie roll out of bed. I opened her door to release my fully refreshed toddler, and saw both boys rising from their slumber. Their two-hour afternoon nap had become a 20-minute afternoon nap. I left them in their room hoping they’d drift back to sleep, but they only drifted into anger at being ignored.
My Internet time took a major hit that day. I pulled everyone into the living room, and we played until supper. At least I snuck my nap in.
posted by Matt at
11:38 PM
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